Friday, November 8, 2024

Guzmán family’s lawyers thank AMLO for freeing Chapo’s son

Lawyers for the family of convicted drug trafficker Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán thanked the Mexican government and President López Obrador for freeing El Chapo’s son, Ovidio Guzmán, during a violent clash in Culiacán on Thursday.

Lawyers José Luis González Meza and Juan Pablo Badillo Soto gave a press conference on Friday to offer their own version of the events that terrorized residents of the Sinaloa capital.

They said authorities found Ovidio Guzmán in a house in Tres Ríos, in northern Culiacán. He was arrested, interrogated and beaten for five hours, but was later released because there was not enough evidence to hold him, the lawyers claimed.

The word then came down from higher authorities that he be released, they said.

“. . . with a great deal of good judgement,” President López Obrador ordered his release. The lawyers praised the president as a “human and Christian” president for the decision.

They also denied that associates of the Guzmán family were involved in the attacks on security forces on Thursday. One report said they pointed the finger at opponents of the López Obrador government.

On Friday,  the president acknowledged that the decision to release Guzmán was made by the security cabinet, and that he had personally approved it. However, the president said the Sinaloa Cartel leader was released to prevent further violence, not because of a lack of evidence.

The United States Justice Department has accused Ovidio Guzmán and his brother Joaquín Guzmán López of trafficking cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamine from Mexico to the United States between 2008 and 2018.

Source: El Financiero (sp), Vanguardia (sp)

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.
Monterrey, the capital city of Nuevo León, as seen at night

The life expectancy in Mexico’s healthiest state just got longer

0
The state health minister credited the state's longevity to a health care model that prioritizes quality and safety.
Donald Trump in a blue suit and red tie at a 2024 campaign rally, standing onstage in a stadium filled with people, smiling closemouthed as he points out into the audience

What will a second Donald Trump term mean for Mexico?

4
Peter Davies examines the challenges, pressures and leverage Mexico might have once Donald Trump again becomes president of the United States in 2025.
Multicolored weather map showing an image of Hurricane Rafael

Hurricane Rafael heads for Gulf of Mexico as Category 2 storm

0
The Yucatán Peninsula will see intense rainstorms Thursday as Hurricane Rafael comes for a lingering stay in the Gulf of Mexico.